U.S. Declaration of Independence - Random Trivia Answers

• A1) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The roughly fifty members of the Second Continental Congress had first convened in the City of Brotherly Love on May 10, 1775.
• A2) Thomas Jefferson. The significance of the Declaration of Independence received a major boost when the Democratic-Republican party played up his authorship during his first, unsuccessful run for president in 1796.
• A3) "When". The Preamble begins, "WHEN in the course of human Events, it becomes necessary for one People to dissolve the Political Bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation."
• A4) "honor". The document ends, "And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of the divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."
• A5) "people". With ten uses, "people" tops "law" by one. Combined, "states" and "state" also appear nine times, while "rights" and "right" appear nine times as nouns (and once as a verb).
• A6) 1,324. Most of the document is dedicated to detailing the crimes King George III has committed against the the Colonies.
• A7) 56. More delegates from Pennsylvania (9) signed than any other state; Virginia (7) was second, with each state represented at least twice.
• A8) 2. John Adams of Massachusetts and Thomas Jefferson of Virginia were both members of the Second Continental Congress.
• A9) National Archives Building. The building on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. also houses the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
• A10) National Treasure. Nicolas Cage's character, Benjamin Franklin Gates, actually wants to steal the document to protect it from falling into the wrong hands after officials refuse to believe the danger.
• A11) 1776. The play begins on May 8, 1776 and ends with the signing.
• A12) Moscow, Russia. Napoleon had laid siege to the city during the Battle of Borodino on September 7, 1812. A quarter of million soldiers, with slightly more on the Russian side, battled to a draw at the cost of 70,000 lives. The First French Empire would later withdraw, so Russia effectively won.